the only people that don't like windows 8 and find it confusing are the computer tough guys,a.k.a computer gurus on the internet. the general consumer actually loves it,and that's who Microsoft is targeting, not the know it all techies or the hardcore users who need a million windows open at the same time.

Don't you think that's part of the problem?

this reads like a sponsored microsoft ad instead of a serious discussion about things like why a multimillion dollar os in 2012/13 still cant fix scrolling bugs and other stuff......

You're right. I know of no one who has used marketing terms such as "fluid" to describe their experience.

I know many of you are not gonna believe this, but in reality normal people love Windows 8. I've installed Win8 on 9+ computers which previously had Windows 7 (and XP in one of them). Absolutely all their owners love the new OS.

First, of course, they love the insane boot speeds. Improving the boot was a smart move by Microsoft because it's a performance improvement that normal people can measure.

They love the Start Screen. Seriously. They like being able to customize it, to pin all the stuff they care about. Everyone loves how fluid it is, and how much has improved the search functionality from Win 7.

The Metro apps are amazing for non-techie people. My sister always wanted an easy to use Photo editing application (Photoshop was too daunting to her). So I've installed Fotor, a free app from the Windows Store, and she absolutely loves it. There's many people out there that don't do much else on their computers than web-based activities, like Facebook, YouTube, and web browsing, so the Metro environment works great for them.

Everyone loves how much connected Windows 8 is. They love the integrated Facebook chat, they love the Mail app notifications (Sadly you have to configure notifications for each mail account manually...) and the People app.

They also love having a built in antivirus software (Windows Defender). They love how silent it is, unlike other traditional antivirus software they've been running.

Honestly, there is a learning curve. I don't think everyone could figure out easily how to work with the new OS without my help.

Of course I have Windows 8 installed in my own machine, I still spend most of the time on the Desktop running productivity applications (Visual Studio, 3ds Max, etc.), but I'm using the Metro environment a lot when consuming media or browsing the Internet (I'm typing this on Metro IE, I absolutely love the full screen browsing experience). I'm completely in love with the Mail app. Even though it could be a bit more polished, It is absolutely great and a must for any heavy email user (particularly if you have multiple mail accounts).

I take it my brother isn't normal then because he absolutely hate's Windows 8.

UAC isn't a layer of security, it's a way for the system to ask if you did actually intend to perform a certain operation (That's why it runs on a "secure desktop", so an app can't change a system level setting without user authorisation)

UAC isn't a layer of security, it's a way for the system to ask if you did actually intend to perform a certain operation (That's why it runs on a "secure desktop", so an app can't change a system level setting without user authorisation)

Again, we have steps in place that will do a hell of a lot better job than UAC. We dont want a user to do something? Thats what group policy is for and other applications/utilities.

I try to stay out of this discussions because i'm more than certain half the time people are just making their replies up off the top of their heads any way.
However on this occasion i'll chip in.

I've installed Win 8 for several clients on their request and so far i've heard nothing but compliments from them.
I've of course sat them down and run through it with them just to put their minds at rest as to where some things might have moved etc.

The thing i notice the most is while they like it, their kids absolutely love it and can navigate and use it to its full potential within minuets.
This leads me to believe that MS knows exactly what they are doing, they're not staying in the past, they're moving forwarded and embracing their future customers. Which if any thing, makes me feel like an old, old, tortoise!

This demonstrates that you simply don't understand the purpose of UAC. UAC is just a fancy "Are you sure?" prompt that's harder for malicious software to override.

The software doing the asking has exactly the same rights before and after the UAC prompt.

Dont assume what I do an do not know. I know exactly what UAC is. I said UAC is annoying, hampers what we do at work, and we have out own security measures in place to prevent users from installing malicious software. Users do not get the "are you sure" prompt since they are not allowed to install software. They get a "you need admin rights to install this software" message. And we have other measures in place which I cannot divulge for confidentiality reasons.

So, users do not even get the chance to download/try to install anything that would make UAC "useful". They never see a UAC prompt even if it was enabled. And UAC also makes deploying software a pain.

I would love to know these "internal" programs he uses.

If I told you that, I would be fired from my job. We have government contracts and we cannot give out any info on our IT infrastructure. I dont think the DoD would appreciate that to much.

If I told you that, I would be fired from my job. We have government contracts and we cannot give out any info on our IT infrastructure. I dont think the DoD would appreciate that to much.

I respect that but why can't UAC supplement your custom solutions? If users aren't modifying system components, running unsigned code or trying to do anything a normal user wouldn't do then they shouldn't be seeing UACs dialogue anyway.

I respect that but why can't UAC supplement your custom solutions? If users aren't modifying system components, running unsigned code or trying to do anything a normal user wouldn't do then they shouldn't be seeing UACs dialogue anyway.

Dont assume what I do an do not know. I know exactly what UAC is. I said UAC is annoying, hampers what we do at work, and we have out own security measures in place to prevent users from installing malicious software. Users do not get the "are you sure" prompt since they are not allowed to install software. They get a "you need admin rights to install this software" message. And we have other measures in place which I cannot divulge for confidentiality reasons.

So, users do not even get the chance to download/try to install anything that would make UAC "useful". They never see a UAC prompt even if it was enabled. And UAC also makes deploying software a pain.

If I told you that, I would be fired from my job. We have government contracts and we cannot give out any info on our IT infrastructure. I dont think the DoD would appreciate that to much.

Working in enterprise class and government facilities, I can assure you that UAC does absolutely nothing to hamper my ability to troubleshoot, install, uninstall, remote in, or assist in any way shape or form. UAC is set at the default level, as a matter of fact the only thing that sometimes causes issue is the software firewalls that are left in place but after the gpo gets assigned properly that issue goes away.

I would like to know what software you use, this does not infringe on anything having to do with the government or their controls..it is just a software package. If you don't feel comfortable, take it to pm. There are services out there that allow you to put in your admin credentials prior to logon to be able to take full control and see all uac prompts and be able to put in passwords as needed. You can't see uac prompts with many remote tools because it gets installed or applied without admin user creds. Software that does allows you to see uac prompts is logmein rescue (this is not the normal logmein service, this is a technician service that has a annual cost behind it), dameware mini remote control, pc anywhere (need to preinstall as a admin), logmein (need to preinstall as a admin), teamviewer (need to preinstall as a admin), labtech (site management package), altiris (site management package), sccm (site management package)....I am sure that I am missing some that I have used in previous experiences.

hahahah, while I do believe he wrote the bullet points through his own filter, a bit too technically accurate for "normal" people, I do believe him. For normal people whose PCs usually sit around collecting dust and viruses I absolutely believe they love Windows 8. The Start Page makes all the basics much more accessible and easy to use for them.

That's who it's for. Advanced users should not deny this, just keep asking for options, but it's silly to deny that for its target market, these things work.